<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Sad and useless soulmark au by tall_wolf_of_tarth</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22546528">Sad and useless soulmark au</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tall_wolf_of_tarth/pseuds/tall_wolf_of_tarth'>tall_wolf_of_tarth</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:14:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,040</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22546528</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tall_wolf_of_tarth/pseuds/tall_wolf_of_tarth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Another soulmark au</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>127</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sad and useless soulmark au</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>it came out sad, and I made myself sad writing this, so you can read this and be frustrated as well. Kind of happy ending though, but I totally painted myself in the corner with this.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="western">Sad and useless soulmark au</p><p class="western">Soulmarks are pretty useless, thinks Brienne. Someone you've known for a while happens to say something to you and bang, those words appear on your body on that instant. In the movies, it's always something beautiful and meaningful, and they appear in your arm or upper chest or shoulder where you can immediately show it to your soulmate no matter where you are.</p><p class="western">When Jaime Lannister gets his soulmark it's exactly like that. Brienne and Jaime are sitting on the park bench on a beautiful day, the fountain twinkling behind them. Brienne gives Jaime her book that has come freshly out of printing. He reads the dedication she has written for him, they hug (platonically like always) and she tells him how much she appreciates him, that's why she has dedicated the book to him. “Oathkeeper,” she says it with a smile. “Like you.”</p><p class="western">Jaime's eyes are bright and happy and Brienne thinks that this time he might actually kiss her. Instead, he hisses, pulls up his shirt sleeve and they both stare at his arm where word <em>Oathkeeper</em> appears. The letters are in bright blue and written beautifully.</p><p class="western">It even gets more romantic. “It's you...” Jaime exclaims, and his eyes are bright green like shards of glass. “I've always wanted it to be you!” And then Jaime kisses her and they both might be little weepy. And in a typical romantic movie fashion, before they can talk about what this means, they are interrupted by Jaime's colleagues and Jaime pulls down his sleeve and Brienne escapes before Jaime can ask about <em>her</em> soulmark.</p><p class="western">***</p><p class="western">Brienne got her soulmark three years before. Hers comes in a way that is completely useless. She is sitting in the library with Jaime Lannister and Cleos Fray arguing about their group project for Professor Tully, and Jaime, in his typical way sneers something ruthless to Brienne which makes Cleos to plead “Jaime, please, stop being such an ass”. Brienne stands up from the table, fists clenched and afterwards she is sure that she almost punched him, but then sharp pain hits her. It feels like someone has stabbed her.</p><p class="western">Lannister is still staring at her, with his horrible sneer and she wants to rub her thigh, to push away invisible knife that is hurting her, but instead she turns away and goes to the toilet to check what the hell is stabbing her inner thigh. In the toilet cubicle, pants in her ankles she spots her soulmark. The letters are upside down for her, and the writing is squiggly but she can read it clearly.</p><p class="western">“<em>Has anyone ever told you that you're as tedious as you are ugly?”</em></p><p class="western">The mark is in red ink, and it kind of looks like she was cut in the thigh and the blood running from the wound has formed her soulmark. It's an ugly thing, both visually and in the words.</p><p class="western">That's why the soulmarks are useless, Brienne thinks, sitting on the toilet lid with her trousers down. When you get them, you need to show them to your soulmate right away, because otherwise they can claim that you got it tattooed afterwards. And Brienne really doesn't plan to ask sneering Lannister to check it up. And besides, Jaime Lannister can't really be her soulmate. He is hateful, infuriating and unkind, and Brienne hates every minute she has to spend with him. The mark is a mistake, a prank from the gods, she decides. So she pulls up her trousers, goes back to the library to collect her books from the table, ignores Lannister when he tries to engage her, goes home and tapes her soulmark over with sturdiest sports tape she has. And she never goes without covering it up again.</p><p class="western">***</p><p class="western">Jaime, of course, wants to see her soulmark as soon as he gets his own. He finds her not long after she has run away from the park.</p><p class="western">“Brienne, I know you have your soulmark.” He is kneeling now in front of her bed, his hand on her knee. She has escaped to her hotel room but there is no running away from Jaime when he is determined. “Brienne,” he pleads, but she doesn't know what to say and pulls her knees up and tries to make herself very small. “Brienne, I know that you have a soulmark and I know it's not mine”</p><p class="western">“What?” She lifts her head up from her knees.</p><p class="western">“You can tell me who's it is if you want, but I know it's not mine. I've known for years.”</p><p class="western">Brienne is sure her mouth is hanging to the floor.</p><p class="western">“I saw it in Harrenhal. You had a tape on it, but was clearly your soulmark. I've known ever since then that I'm not your soulmate, and it's ok. I've made my peace with it a long time ago. You are the best person I know, and I'm this horrible mess so of course it's not me. I don't mind that it's one-sided.”</p><p class="western">“Jaime,” she is only able to say, but he continues over her.</p><p class="western">“Nothing really needs to change now, does it? I love you, and now I know you are my soulmate, even if I'm not yours. I've loved you for years already, so the me getting this mark doesn't really change anything. Only that now you know about it as well. But we can still be friends like we've been until now.”</p><p class="western">“Jaime, whose soulmark you think I have?” She puts her feet back to the floor again.</p><p class="western">“I don't know, it has to be Renly, doesn't it? You're not with him, so he must be dead. Or someone really horrible. But your soulmate can't be someone horrible, because you deserve so much better.”</p><p class="western">“It's not Renly, Jaime.” He looks up to her. “Jaime...” she sighs again, “Jaime, I love you too. I've loved you for a long time. You are my best friend and sometimes my worst enemy, but I love you.” And she kisses him, pulls him up to the bed with her and lets him wrap his arms around her.</p><p class="western">“It's yours, Jaime.” She hides her face to his neck. “It's yours.”</p><p class="western">“Can I see it?” He asks and pulls her closer.</p><p class="western">“Never.”</p><p class="western">
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>don't worry, they live happily ever after... but brienne keeps the stupid thing taped over.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>